Filtration systems are used in order to clean fluids such as waste water. The waste water travels through one or more filtration elements from which particles in the waste water are removed. Water that is cleaned in such a manner is often referred to as permeate. Filtration systems may be configured so that all of the waste water is filtered into permeate. Alternatively, filtration systems can be designed in which a quantity of water with a higher concentration of particles, known as concentrate, is produced in addition to an amount of permeate.
Particle build-up causes filters to lose their effectiveness. In some instances, particles block pores on the surface of the filter elements thus preventing or slowing water from flowing through. Filtration systems have been designed in order to minimize the build-up of particles on the outer surfaces of the filtration elements. One such design has a plurality of filtration disks arranged coaxially along a hollow shaft. Separator elements are positioned between the filtration disks and remain stationary when the hollow shaft and filtration disks rotate. Relative rotation between the separator elements and the filtration disks causes a flow pattern to be established that acts to sweep particles off of the outer surface of the filtration disks. Waste water is filtered through the filtration disks while particles that would otherwise accumulate on the outer surface thereof are removed.
Although capable of accomplishing their intended purpose, current rotary filtration systems are not well designed for use in an industrial environment such as a nuclear plant. For example, in current filtration systems the filtration disks remain in place during servicing of the unit. This type of arrangement requires a large amount of labor to access the various filtration disks and exposes the technician to waste water while working on the unit. It is also the case that seals on the hollow shaft located below the filtration disks on current rotary filtration systems are subject to failure. Particles present in the waste water eventually propagate downward along the hollow shaft and build-up on the aforementioned seals thus causing their failure.
Current filtration systems employ filtration disks that are constructed of components joined by an epoxy and that include polymeric substances. Although suitable for their intended purpose, current filtration disks are susceptible to failure when employed in harsh environments such as when exposed to waste water that contains radioactive elements.
Accordingly, there remains room for variation and improvement within the art.